March Fong Eu (1922-2017)
March Fong Eu, born 1922 in Oakdale, California, holds a distinct place in both the history of the State as well as the Secretary of State Agency. Before serving in California government, Fong Eu earned degrees from UC Berkeley, Mills College, and a PhD in education from Stanford University. Upon her election to the California State Assembly in 1966, Fong Eu became the first Asian American woman elected to serve in the California State Legislature. In 1974, March Fong Eu became the first woman to hold the office of California’s Secretary of State, as well as the first Asian American to be elected to a statewide constitutional office.
During her tenure as Secretary, Fong Eu advocated for a new building to house the State Archives, and for the establishment of a California History Museum. Built in 1995, the California Secretary of State Office complex still houses both the State Archives and California History Museum; in 2019, the complex was renamed the March Fong Eu Building in her honor. Other areas to which Secretary Fong Eu contributed greatly include voter participation, international trade and tourism to California, and the modernization of several internal systems and external services of the California Secretary of State’s Office. After her tenure as California Secretary of State, March Fong Eu served for two years as U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia, at the request of President Bill Clinton. She passed away on December 21, 2017, at 95 years old.